


Over a Tuna Sandwich and Fries

by charcolor (orphan_account)



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Bittersweet, Gen, Post-Finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-06-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:02:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24261037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/charcolor
Summary: Despite everything, Catra knows her mistakes have left permanent blemishes. And she can count on being reminded in case she forgets.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 21





	Over a Tuna Sandwich and Fries

**Author's Note:**

> 8/26/20: i'm orphaning this because i don't feel comfortable having this listed on my works anymore, due to the extreme antiblackness and ableism from noelle stevenson and the writers of spop. however i still think this story is good in itself so i am leaving my handle attached to it. feel free to check out my other stories if you like vocaloid and mlp :) but if you like incest or noncon or some shit like that you're banned

Catra didn't usually go to the diner alone. She had friends now, she had a _girlfriend_ now, there really wasn't any excuse for this.

She would have _liked_ to be with Adora right now, but Adora was sick. Nothing serious, just a cold, but she still needed rest. And while Catra was sure that Glimmer or Bow would have been okay with coming along, she was still a little cautious about being alone with them.

After all, in a way, Catra had killed Glimmer's mother.

She lifted her glass of water to her lips and pulled an ice cube into her mouth with her tongue. It was something Adora had mentioned recently. "Sometimes, if I feel like I wanna hurt myself, I've started chewing on ice to get rid of the stress." It was worth a try. The freezing sensation throughout her jaw was a good distraction, at the very least.

"Tuna sandwich with fries?"

Catra looked up to see the waitress gently placing a plate on her table. She looked familiar, Catra realized. She couldn't quite figure out where she'd seen her before.

It probably wasn't important. She gave a "thanks" around the ice cube still intact in her mouth, and the waitress turned to leave.

"Enjoy, Miss Catra!"

Catra stiffened--if she didn't know her, how could she know her name? Of course, it'd been a few months now since her and Adora's first kiss, and surely people would recognize the girlfriend of the legendary She-Ra, that is, if they didn't recognize the girl who tried to end the world because she was so petty and selfish and evil and crazy, but...it was still unnerving, to hear her name from a stranger's mouth.

"What, you don't recognize her? Didn't you take over Dryl for a while?"

Catra tensed up at the familiar lilted voice from behind her. Before she could turn around to confront them, the green shapeshifter slid into her view and invited themself to sit back in the seat across from Catra, not even giving her time to greet them, her definition of "greet" being to kick them under the table and tell them to fuck off.

"She worked for Entrapta." Double Trouble pointed vaguely toward the waitress, currently too busy tending to another table to notice. "She was the baker. Honestly don't know why she went to be a waitress instead of a chef, but, hey, I can't judge. I don't even know her name."

Catra swallowed a bite of her food, allowing her to ask, with a generous hint of bitterness, "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Same as you, kitten. Just taking a lunch break, nothing deeper than that." They rested their chin in their hands. "But I just _had_ to come up and figure out what you're doing here all alone. Did Adora break--"

"She's _sick,"_ Catra interrupted, taking another gulp of water and relishing the unforgiving iciness. "Why's it any of _your_ business?"

"Well, I just can't say I'd be surprised, is all." Double Trouble smirked. "Even before you made it official, you spent so much time abusing her."

_Abusing her._

Double Trouble didn't wait for Catra to prompt them to elaborate. "You know, the manipulation, the betrayal, the violence...really everything a textbook abuser would do, honestly. But, hey, maybe Adora likes getting hurt."

Catra bit her lip, and reached tentatively for her butter knife. Of course, that wouldn't be nearly threatening enough to deter Double Trouble. Her claws were much sharper, but...somehow, she felt like being actually violent wasn't the best choice in this situation.

"No, let's not kid ourselves. She's not a masochist. She's probably just naïve enough to forgive you. Or too in love to see your faults."

Catra took a deep breath. As much as she wanted to kick their ass right now, she knew if she lashed out, Double Trouble would just have more to use against her. She had to play it smart. "Why are you talking to me about this? It's none of your fuckin' business."

"Like I _ever_ mind my own business!" Double Trouble laughed softly, narrowing their eyes. "What can I say? I'm nosy and petty."

At least they were aware, Catra supposed.

"There's something else I just _have_ to know," Double Trouble continued. "How do you forgive yourself, honey? 'Cause I sure as hell wouldn't forgive you."

Even after learning to be a more peaceful and less angry person, Catra could at least rely on the fact that she fucking hated Double Trouble and their weird wannabe psychoanalytical questions. She didn't come here to reflect on her inherent morality and the permanent consequences of her detrimental behavior derived from her unhealthy coping mechanisms, she just came here for a quick lunch and maybe a milkshake and then go home to make sure Adora was recovering well.

Catra just went with the easy answer. "I don't. Can you fuck off now?"

"Not good enough, sweetheart!" Double Trouble rested their chin in their hands with a smug smile. "Where's the depth? Where's that character development? I'm dying to know!"

She wasn't going to unload all of her mental and emotional issues on someone at the diner anyway, but now she was _especially_ not going to do so purely out of spite. She didn't like the idea of giving Double Trouble any satisfaction. But she figured she couldn't just sit there and ignore them. She could at least try to be a little mature, for once.

"Look." Catra bit into a French fry, not caring how rude she was being by talking while chewing. "I get it. People hate me. People are always gonna hate me. Not everyone's gonna just turn around and hug me just because I said sorry for trying to end the world and sacrificing everyone in it to the Horde and manipulating everyone I met to get my way. I get it. You don't have to remind me."

"Oh, I figured. We know deep down you don't wanna be the villain."

"I never cared about morality. I was just petty and angry at everyone. I'm working on it, okay? I'm seeing a therapist, and it's not you, so stop trying to crack my psyche and make me spill all my trauma to you."

"Ah, there it is." Double Trouble, despite Catra's wishes, seemed satisfied. "Wiser, more mature, more honest, more self-aware--we love to see it."

Catra could feel the fur on her skin start to bristle. "Yeah, whatever, can you fucking leave now?"

"Leave? I haven't even ordered lunch yet!" Double Trouble stretched their arms. "Ah, I'll go back to my table, though. And leave you to think about how you're still pretty irredeemable. _I_ certainly won't forget what you did."

"No one's forgotten, trust me. And I don't care about you."

Double Trouble simply waved and walked away. Not even the way they came. Had they just been watching Catra from behind waiting to make a dramatic entrance? Typical. Catra scoffed and shoved another fry in her mouth.

What if Adora had come with her? Would she be defensive? Probably. She got pretty defensive of Catra, even though Catra deserved whatever derision she received. Double Trouble probably wouldn't have even bothered them. And even if they did, they wouldn't be able to convince her that Catra was a bad person.

After all, if Catra couldn't get it through to Adora why she hated herself so much, she figured no one could.

Whatever. If they could survive the apocalypse and restore their planet's beauty, they could learn to deal with this. It wasn't worth feeling sorry for herself over, especially not while sitting alone at a diner, so she just carried on enjoying her tuna sandwich.

It was delicious.


End file.
